Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with existing apparatus and methods for winding line on reels and removal of old line, particularly on fishing reels. Line can be removed from a reel by pulling off the old line manually. New line is tied on to the empty reel and the winding mechanism of the reel is manually engaged to reline the reel. This is an effective procedure for many purposes but is time consuming and laborious and does not allow the new line to be put on the reel with controlled tension on the line. Tackle shops will typically provide the service of removing old line from fishing reels and putting new line on the reel using expensive motorized rewinding stations having dedicated motors and associated equipment. For spinning reels the spool will generally be removed from the reel and locked in a winding device that is able to spin the spool and add the new line under tension.
Several tools have also been developed to utilize the motor of a power drill to turn the handle of a reel and spin the spool to quickly add line to the reel. For reels having a single handle, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,748,657 and 7,909,280 disclose shank mounted cylinders that including a notch or slot to engage the single arm of the reel handle. The shank is insertable into the chuck of an electric drill.
For bait casting and other reel types having a dual arm handles, several tools have been developed that attach to a motor and are able to turn the handle on the reel thus pulling new line onto the reel. An example includes U.S. Pat. No. 7,086,622 where a drill chuck mounted device is provided that includes a cylindrical body with one or more recesses to engage the winding arms of the fishing reel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,111 discloses both a plate having two holes to engage the two spaced apart handles on the winding arms of the reel as well as an H shaped drive member having fixed terminal slots for engaging the handles of the winding arms. L shaped winding devices such as that disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0168546 are designed for one arm of the L to fit into the chuck of a drill while the other perpendicular arm rests against a winding arm of the reel. For safe and effective operation a recess in the connector between the two arms must be kept tightly against the center nut of the reel arm.
While certain of the above implements may be useful, invention described herein provides a novel method and apparatus for winding and unwinding line on fishing reels where the winding mechanism can be tightly engaged and remain centered on reels of different sizes such that wobbling of the driver is avoided during high speed winding.